Argentines hooked on watching livestream of Mar del Plata Canyon deep sea exploration
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
7 hours ago
- Yahoo
How a livestream from the bottom of the ocean became the latest social media hit
Transparent-faced fish glide through the murky depths, snow-like detritus drifts from above, and soft sponges emerge from the seafloor's soot. This mesmerizing glimpse into the South Atlantic's deep sea has unexpectedly captivated Argentines. Researchers operating a remotely controlled vehicle, filming life 4,000 metres (13,000 feet) beneath the surface, have admitted they never anticipated their unusual deep-sea mission would become a social media phenomenon. Their live video feed has garnered over 1.6 million daily views on YouTube, dominated national television news, and even ignited a significant public debate regarding the defunding of Argentine scientific research under the libertarian President Javier Milei. "It was a huge surprise for us," said expedition leader Daniel Lauretta. "It's something that fills our hearts because we want to spread the word." Equipped with high-definition cameras and advanced sensors, the autonomous robot is, for the first time, revealing the enigmatic organisms of Mar de Plata's submarine canyon with unprecedented clarity and intricate detail. The region, where the warm current from Brazil meets the cold current coming up from the Falkland Islands, is known for its little-studied biodiversity. In dives lasting around eight hours a day, the camera encounters an array of surprising creatures lurking in the inky depths off the coast of Buenos Aires: An orange starfish so bright it drew comparisons to Patrick of 'SpongeBob SquarePants' cartoon fame, a sea cucumber viewers nicknamed 'sweet potato,' a deep sea crab that looked like a hairy spider. 'The colors, the zoom capability – that really amazed me,' Lauretta said. 'I think that feeling reached the public too.' Often peaking at some 50,000 simultaneous viewers, the livestream from the deep-sea research vessel kicked off last week and runs until Aug. 10. Argentine researchers and American experts from the nonprofit of former Google CEO Eric E. Schmidt, the Schmidt Ocean Institute Foundation, use the vehicle to map the underwater gorge, collect samples and identify scores of new species at a depth below the reach of sunlight, where scientists have only begun to scratch the surface when it comes to understanding marine life. Few viewers have been able to resist the impulse to anthropomorphize the featured life-forms, assigning zodiac stars to invertebrate and sharing social media quizzes along the lines of 'Which deep sea creature are you based on how you handle stress?' (If you ignore the world, you're a translucent squid; if you explode with anger, you're apparently a pistol shrimp.) 'Argentines are very passionate about everything that happens in Argentina,' said Georgina Valanci, 40, her eyes fixed on floating translucent fish while crocheting on Monday. 'I think it represents a bit of the pride that something like this is being done in our country.' Most Argentine researchers on the expedition come from Conicet, Argentina's leading scientific funding and research body, shining a light on the institute's work at a moment when its funding is under attack. President Milei has taken his bureaucracy-slashing chainsaw to Argentine research projects and grants, curbing science spending as a part of a broader drive to eliminate Argentina's chronic fiscal deficit and bring down inflation. State-backed science organizations have lost 4,000 positions in the last year and a half — a combination of layoffs, frozen contracts and resignations over poor working conditions and low pay. Conicet suffered a 21 per cent budget cut in real terms last year. Salaries for Conicet researchers have lost 35 per cent of their value. Many warn that the measures are setting off a brain drain. Seizing on the surge of public excitement about Conicet, researchers have called for a 48-hour nationwide strike on Wednesday to draw attention to their plight. Although Milei has not commented on the livestream, his allies have expressed disdain. 'They should livestream an offshore drilling operation instead,' said Alejandro Álvarez, an official in Milei's government, referring to growing crude production in Argentina's Vaca Muerta shale formation – an oil boom that Milei hopes can help revive the nation's crisis-stricken economy. 'It's a beautiful process of wealth creation and natural resource exploitation that will make Argentina greater." In the meantime, Argentines seem content to be mesmerized by orange starfish.
Yahoo
11 hours ago
- Yahoo
Argentines hooked on watching livestream of Mar del Plata Canyon deep sea exploration
Transparent-faced fish drift through dusky waters. Snowlike flecks of dead plants sift down from the world above. Soft sponges peek through the soot of the seafloor. Only occasional mutters among marine biologists break the thick silence. And somehow, this livestream of sea life in the South Atlantic feels like it has everyone in Argentina watching — or talking and making memes about it. (AP Video: Cristian Kovadloff and Victor R. Caivano)
Yahoo
17 hours ago
- Yahoo
A livestream of deep sea creatures transfixes Argentina and sparks calls for refunding science
BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (AP) — Transparent-faced fish drift through dusky waters. Snowlike flecks of dead plants sift down from the world above. Soft sponges peek through the soot of the seafloor. Only occasional mutters among marine biologists break the thick silence. And somehow, this livestream of sea life in the South Atlantic feels like it has everyone in Argentina watching — or talking and making memes about it. The group of Argentine and American researchers behind this remotely operated vehicle filming life-forms 4,000 meters (13,000 feet) undersea told The Associated Press on Monday that they couldn't have imagined that their expedition would become such a sensation. It has attracted more than 1.6 million views a day on YouTube, dominating TV news broadcasts and even sparking a national conversation about the defunding of Argentine science under libertarian President Javier Milei. 'It was a huge surprise for us,' said expedition leader Daniel Lauretta. 'It's something that fills our hearts because we want to spread the word. Perhaps there are young people who are learning, maybe we're awakening some scientific curiosity.' The vast array of creatures glimpsed via high-definition camera include a placid starfish so orange it evokes Patrick of 'SpongeBob SquarePants' cartoon fame, a sea cucumber reminiscent of a sweet potato, a deep sea crab that looks like a hairy spider. The images have created a sense of collective wonder at the mysteries of the deep sea — and with it, a hearty dose of anthropomorphism as viewers assign zodiac stars to invertebrate and take social media quizzes along the lines of 'Which deep sea creature are you based on how you handle stress?' (If you ignore the world you're a translucent squid, if you explode with anger you're apparently a pistol shrimp). Often peaking at 50,000 simultaneous viewers, the livestream began last week and runs everyday until Aug. 10 for up to 10 hours as the scientists map the little-researched submarine gorge off the coast of Buenos Aires, collecting samples and identifying scores of new species. 'The clarity was incredible. The colors, the zoom capability — that really amazed me,' Lauretta said. 'I think that feeling reached the public too.' The project is a collaboration between scientists mostly from Conicet, Argentina's leading scientific funding and research body, and the Schmidt Ocean Institute Foundation, a nonprofit set up by Google's former executive chairman Eric E. Schmidt to advance oceanographic research. The expedition has also inspired pride in Argentine research at a time when Milei is slashing spending on science in a drive to eliminate Argentina's chronic fiscal deficit. Researchers and fellows from Conicet have sought to seize on the attention by calling for a 48-hour nationwide strike Wednesday. 'Argentines are very passionate about everything that happens in Argentina," said Georgina Valanci, 40, who seemed mesmerized by the livestream while crocheting on Monday. 'I think it represents a bit of the pride that something like this is being done in our country.' Milei dissolved the Ministry of Science and Technology after coming to power in late 2023. Conicet suffered a 21% budget cut in real terms last year. Salaries for Conicet researchers have lost 35% of their value in recent months. Industry estimates show state-funded science and technology organizations losing 3,400 jobs in the last year and a half. Each day as the video shows sea stars regenerating arms or amoeba engulfing prey, comments pop up expressing support for Conicet in real time. 'Long live Conicet!' several users posted on Monday. The Associated Press
